Week #4 -- April 29, 2012

Highlights submitted thus far by  Kings, Stingers, Thunderbirds, NWC, Bombers

Northwest Regional Park Field 1:    Umpire- Reggie Grant
Game 1: Northwest Corridor 11 (WP-Howard Goldberg 4-1) Sky & Sky Inc. 3 (LP-Ken Zalis 0-1) 

NWC & Sky&Sky met for the first time since last year’s NWC upset 5-3 2nd round playoff victory upset. Adam Silverman’s 1st inning single scored Howard Goldberg and gave NWC an early 1-0 lead. They added two more in the 2nd inning off of a Chris Amman sac fly and a Ben Herbst rbi base hit. Sky&Sky got their first runs in the top of the 3rd inning after David Kowitz crushed an rbi triple to centerfield and Brian Sky delivered an rbi single to right center. Sky&Sky added one more run in the top of the 3rd inning but that would be all they could muster against Goldberg in game #1. Meanwhile NWC’s balanced attack continued to add to their lead. Chris Amman delivered a line drive 2rbi gapper in the 4th inning. Brad Rosenberg pitched in with his own rbi single in the 5th and Mike Bowden enjoyed an rbi double later in the inning. NWC sealed the victory with 4 insurance runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. Jon Herbst scored on Scott Sweren’s fielder’s choice. Adam Silverman knocked Goldberg home with a liner up the middle and Brad Rosenberg’s double drove home Silverman and Scott Snyder. Brian “Sky” Mekiliesky made his 2012 debut on the pitcher’s mound in relief for Ken Zalis. NWC managed to use 14 players and took game #1 11-3

NWC Hitting Highlights:
Adam Silverman 3-3 BB R 2rbi
Brad Rosenberg 2-4 R 3rbi 2b
Scott Snyder 2-1 2BB 2R
Chris Ammann 1-2 SF 3rbi

Game 2:  Northwest Corridor 14 (WP-Howard Goldberg 5-1) Sky & Sky Inc. 8 (LP-Eric Radom 0-1) 

Game #2 started out similarly to the first one. New pitcher Eric Radom couldn’t catch a break as NWC put up 4 quick runs to start the game. 6 consecutive NWC batters reached base and jumped out to a lead that they’d never relinquish. Sky&Sky tried to chip away adding a run in the 1st after a Brian Sky fielder’s choice and another in the 2nd inning from a Pavsner sac fly. NWC got another in the 2nd from Jon Goldman’s sac fly. Then NWC busted the game wide open scoring 9 runs in the 3rd inning. Three NWC players delivered inside the park homers. Sweren and Goldberg went back to back and Gabe Unterman crushed a 3run homer to the right centerfield gap. NWC enjoyed a 14-2 lead and had visions of a sweep already. Radom/Sky would hold NWC scoreless the rest of the way and the Sky&Sky offense slowly started to chip away at the lead. Sky&Sky put up two runs in the 5th inning and attempted a comeback in the bottom of the 7th. Hits from Radom, Rotts, Sky and Birenbaum helped them score 4 times in the bottom of the inning and come closer to the NWC lead. However it wasn’t enough and NWC enjoyed a well earned early season sweep of Sky&Sky to secure sole possession of 1st place in the standings.

NWC Hitting Highlights:
Adam Silverman 3-4 2R 2rbi
Howard Goldberg 3-3 BB 2R rbi 2b HR
Gabe Unterman 1-2 R BB 4RBI HR
Scott Sweren 2-4 2R 3rbi HR

NWC Game Notes:
►Ted Winner appeared briefly in both games, making his return to NWC and 1st appearance for the club since 2007
►Jon Herbst took advantage of last week’s rainout to get married! Congratulations!
► Mike Bowden made his 2012 debut for NWC, his last appearance was last July also against Sky&Sky
► NWC’s poor offseason conditioning program was again scrutinized yet again after they exceeded the weight limit and broke off a piece of the concrete bench. Sources close to the accident report that with the addition of Ted Winner, that bench had no chance

Northwest Regional Park Field 2:    Umpire- Ray Huster
Game 1: Stingers 17 (WP-Larry Newman 2-1) Thunderbirds 6 (LP- Jerome Ragsdale 0-2) 

Game one for the Stingers opened with Newman taking the mound and controlling the new kids on the block. Brett Eisenberg got things rolling with a one out triple who was then driven in by Serkes single. With runners on the bases and two outs, Webster drove in the men on base with a shot over the left infield to take the first inning by 3. Newman again would control the Thunderbirds in the second with back up from his infield. Engler would get things going for the Stingers’ bats in b-2nd getting his first rip of the year followed by a walk by Newman. With runners in position again, the Stingers top of the order did it once again with rbi shots from Palo and Eisenberg taking a 6-0 lead after two innings of play. IN the third it was a repeat of the first two innings, but the Stingers try to put the Thunderbirds away as they would get singles from the middle of their line-up, rbi from Newman and a solid 3 rbi triple from Flynn. Palo and Serkes would also add on to the lead with their rbi shots as the Stingers took a 14-0 lead after 3 innings of play. However, in the top of the 4th, the Thunderbirds would find a gap in the Stingers outfield and score 5 to stay in the game. IN the b-5th, the tops of the Stingers took action again with Serkes drive in of Palo and Randall’s towering fence triple pulling their lead back up to 16-5. Thunderbirds would try to do a bit more damage gaining another run in the 6th, but it would be too little on the morning as the Stingers took game one 16-6.

Stingers jumped out to a big 14-0 lead after 3 innings. The Thunderbirds rallied on Greg Hooker, Jerome Ragsdale, Dave Woods, and Kyle Kennedy's consecutive singles. Next was a Grand Slam HR by Theo Battle. The Thunderbirds would hold the Stingers to 3 more runs over the next 4 innings, but they only would score once more.

Thunderbirds Offensive Leaders:
Greg Hooker 2-3, R
Jerome Ragsdale 2-3, R
Dave Woods 2-3, 2 R
Kyle Kennedy 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI , BB
Theo Battle 2-3, R, 4 RBI, GRAND SLAM HR

Game 2:  Thunderbirds 11 (WP-Kyle Kennedy 1-1)  Stingers 6 (LP- Tom Paulshock 0-3) 

The Thunderbirds jumped out to a 4-1 in the 1st and never looked back following rbi singles (from Tony Barner and Theo Battle) and a sac fly from Kyle Kennedy. The Stingers closed the gap after the top of the 4th to 3-5 but the Thunderbirds responded with rbi singles from Greg Hooker and Jerome Ragsdale. The bottom of the 5th proved costly for the Stingers as the Thunderbirds got rbi singles from Theo Battle, Lenny Fields, and Kevin Spell to secure their very first PMSL win.

Games two was a bit different as the Thunderbirds would take the 1st inning 4-1 from the Stingers as they began to push the ball into more of the our field drawn in and trickling balls in the infield grass. As the Stingers and the Thunderbirds would enter the 4th inning the Thunderbirds would have a lead of 5-1, but the two teams would battle to add on the board with Stinger contributions from Sheridan’s sac AND Webster’s sizzling triple to make it a 7-3 games for the Thunderbirds. In the top of the fifth, the top of the line-up for the Stingers once again added to the board shortening the lead of the Thunderbirds by 6. Paulshock would allow 4 more runs and his defense would start to fade allowing the Thunderbirds to extend their lead further. However, in the top of the 7th, Stingers would attempt a comeback with runners on all of the bags, Friedman drove in a runner with a shot up the middle, but it would be too little too late as the Thunderbirds would take the night cap.

Thunderbirds Offensive Leaders:
Greg Hooker 2-4, R, RBI
Jerome Ragsdale 2-3, R, RBI
Tony Barner 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI
Theo Battle 3-3, R, 2 RBI
Lenny Fields 2-3, 2 R, RBI
Lamont Brown 3-3, R
Kevin Spell 1-2, 2 RBI


Northwest Regional Park Field 3:      Umpire- Kory Rosenberg
Game 1: Bombers 15 (WP- Tzvi Friedman 2-0)  Deuces Up 2 (LP-Rick Winepol 1-4)  5 Innings

The Bombers faced Deuces Up on Sunday. The last time these 2 teams squared off was in last year’s playoffs. The Bombers had to come from behind late in the game to advance. The Bombers expected another tight game on this sunny day but that was not the case. Behind excellent pitching from Tzvi Friedman in game 1 and Jay Walle in game 2 the Bombers turned both games into laughers. The score in game 1 was 15-2 and 14-3 in game 2 – both games ended after 5 innings.

Umpire Kory Rosenberg did a good job controlling the game which is not always easy when these 2 teams play. In game 1 , the Bombers scored 3 runs in the bottom of the first and Deuces Up never led after that. Mikie Goeorgie led off with a double. Ben Guttman followed with a walk and Friedman hit an RBI groundout. Dave Flamm tripled home Gutman and after a walk to Loeb, Dan Gutman hit an RBI groundout for a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2nd the Bombers tacked on 2 more runs. Jason Gardner and Chaim Finkelstein singled and both move up on an error .Georgie then hit a 2 run single for the 5-0 lead.

In the top of the 3rd DU cut the lead to 5-2 but the Bombers came right back in the bottom of the 3rd to score 4 more runs to go up 9-2. The Bombers welcomed back Loeb, the Guttman twins, and Chaim to their lineup and their presence made a huge difference. After a walk to Flamm, Loeb tripled him home. Dan singled home Loeb. After a single by Walle, Loeb pinch ran for him. Brad Eyler and Chaim followed with RBI singles. Loeb scored 2 runs in the inning- believed to be a record in the Loeb Family. In the bottom of the 4th, newcomers Walle and Eyler continued contributing with 2 out RBI’s to help the Bombers take a 12-2 lead. In the 5th Chaim led off with a triple and Shad hit an RBI groundout. Georgie followed with a single and Ben walked. Flamm and Loeb drove home the final 2 runs for the 15-2 win.

Game 2: Bombers 19 (WP- Jay Walle 1-1)  Deuces Up 3 (LP-Rick Winepol 1-5)  5 Innings

In game 2, Walle took the mound after injuring himself on opening day. The Bombers have suffered mental lapses in game 2 of doubleheaders after winning game 1. That was not the case today. The Bombers jumped on Winepol for 7 in the top of the first. Mikie led off with a single and after Ben walked ( the DU team walked Ben 5 times on the day), Tzvi hit a single to load the bases. Flamm, who has started the season on fire knocked home 2 with a single. Loeb hit an RBI double. Walle, Gardner and Tony Wiggs also had RBI’s. After DU scored one in the bottom of the first, the Bombers scored 3 more in the 2nd to take a 10-1 lead. In the 3rd, the Bombers scored 4 more in the 3rd to take a 14-1- the big hit, a bases loaded clearing double by Chaim. Jay walle earned his first win in the Pikesville Men’s League and was given the game ball.